Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Baked Pumpkin Doughnut Holes

Doughnuts? Donuts? I went so far as to take a poll. Opinions seem to
be fairly evenly split but doughnuts did get a slight edge. Either way,
they are seriously delicious. So, have you been seeing these "doughnut
muffins" all over Pinterest? The taste of doughnuts without the deep
frying. If, you, like me, are tragically afflicted with DFP (deep fry
phobia) then you probably have a few of those recipes pinned. They were
on my long, long list of treats to try when I happened upon a pumpkin
version in an adorable doughnut hole size and the recipe quickly shot to
the top of my list. So now that I've made them, let's discuss.

First of all you should know that, if you make these, you will hate me
because you'll blame me for the fact that you ate half of them standing
up in the kitchen while dunking them in the cinnamon sugar. For
heaven's sake, no matter what you do, DO NOT taste one of these while
you're doing that because you will forgo putting them on a plate and
just move them straight from the sugar into your mouth. In fact, while I
was licking buttery cinnamon sugar off my fingers I tried to think of a
technique that would prevent you from eating half of these standing up
in your kitchen. As far as I can tell, the only option is that you make
them and then toss them directly into the garbage. But if you insist
on trying one just remember that you've been warned.

OK, my conscience is now clear but you're still going to make these,
aren't you? Of course you are. I made them twice. The first time I
followed the recipe and the second time I tweaked and experimented. So here is the recipe along with some advice to get you started. And will I
make them yet again? Oh, yeah. Enjoy!

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and
pumpkin pie spice. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, brown
sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin puree and milk until smooth. Add the dry
ingredients and mix just until combined.

Spray a 24 cup mini muffin tin with non-stick spray and scoop 1 oz. of
batter into each cup. I used a 1 oz. scoop for even distribution. Bake
in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for approximately 12 minutes or until a
cake tester comes out clean. While the doughnuts are baking, prepare
a bowl with the melted butter and another with the sugar and cinnamon
combination. Remove the doughnuts from the oven and allow to cool just
enough to handle. Dip each doughnut quickly into the melted butter and
then roll in the cinnamon sugar to coat. I found, though, that even if I
removed the doughnuts quickly they still soaked up a lot of butter. They were delicious but became quickly soggy. When I made the second
batch I used a pastry brush and got better results.

The second time I made them, I also divided them into three groups. The
first got the butter and cinnamon sugar coating, the second got only
powdered sugar and the third got a glaze. Both the powdered
sugar and the glaze gave less of that freshly fried doughnut taste but
were lighter and less greasy. Brian and I both agreed, though, that the
glazed version wasn't very interesting, the powdered sugar version was
good and the butter and cinnamon sugar version was worth eating half of standing up in your kitchen.

These look amazing ... the cinnamon/sugar version has me drooling ... I'll have to make them on Friday and I've the feeling again on Sunday to share with work friends because I know that by Saturday morning the entire first batch will be gone ... I'll just have to make them late on Sunday to make sure still be doughnuts to take with me on Monday morning.

Delicious! I am actually making these for a wedding. They are so very good. Thank you for sharing another lovely recipe. A much needed jump start to a slow and dreary morning. I hope you have a beautiful day!

I can't wait to try these and I won't blame you when I eat them in the kitchen, It's where I do all my "taste testing." I would definitely go for the cinnamon sugar ones, just something about cinnamon sugar in the morning with my coffee, best way to start off a day! Pinned.

O.k....Idea...What if you use a BUTTER cooking spray (instead of rolling in butter) & then quickly roll in cinnamon /sugar??? It might have the "butter flavor" & still enough wetness to "stick"...w/ less grease n calories...but sill taste great! What do you think...???? (GOSH I HATE TO CHANGE GREAT RECIPES OUT TO MAKE HEALTHIER!!! EVERY-NOW -N-THEN...JUST EAT IT THE WAY IT TASTE GOOD!!! (: )

Hi Megan - I used the mini muffin pan for both reasons. I was concerned that they might spread if they didn't have a container to bake in and it provided the shape. Be careful not to fill it more than 2/3 up if you want the roundish shape. Otherwise they will develop little muffin tops, although they will taste just as good. Good luck and let me know how you liked them!